Ultimate Pizza Dough I Made It Ii

Ultimate Pizza Dough

Cosmicmother 6 years ago
I've heard about the cold ferment method for the ultimate pizza dough flavour, but not starting with cold ingredients! I was so intrigued I did a ton of research online and found that this recipe, Ultimate Pizza Dough, is a Peter Reinhart's dough recipe from his book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart" for his Neapolitan Pizza.
Apparently this is a stripped down version of his book's recipe, and I'm sure the book goes into greater detail and description of the dough process. If you are a Food Science geek like me than I recommend googling why the cold dough method works! Basically the slower the yeast grows the more fermentation which = more flavour and more carbon dioxide = more bubbly, airy pizza!
Had I dragged out my pizza stone from the basement it would have been even better! I ended up cooking it at 525F on the back of a heavy bottomed sheet pan and it took 6-8 minutes per pizza.
While making the dough, I used the KA stand mixer and dough hook for kneading. I drizzled olive oil in Ziploc bags and put the dough balls in there instead of what step 2 says for storing the dough.
As my research found, if you do the 3-5 day cold ferment in the fridge then you should use high protein/bread flour.

It's so light and airy, crispy yet chewy, and has a ton more flavor than your same day pizza dough! I will use this recipe for now on and make sure to freeze some dough balls so I always have some on hand!
The pizza pictured here is brushed with garlic and chili flake infused olive oil with feta cheese, bell peppers, red onion and grape tomatoes sprinkled with dried Italian herbs. Delicious!
Ultimate Pizza Dough
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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Ooooo ... 👀 look at that crust! It looks fantabulous!

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

Thanks Linda! So far it is THE one! I want to play around with the mixing and storing, baking etc. and perfect it some more. But so far it's the best dough I've made. :)

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eastcoaster 6 years ago said:

Having my morning coffee and looking at this makes me want to reach in a take it.That's a lot of work, glad it worked for you.
It looks delicious ,Great photo Shona.

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

I will be making the dough soon and look forward to trying it.. The photo of the sliced piece where you can see the inside and how it baked up just looks amazing! and everything I dream about.

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

Thanks Manella! :)
Linda, I hope this recipe works out for you!! I found the instructions easier to read from here, https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html if you scroll down on that site the recipe is word for word the same as this one.
I just read the directions over and over to make sure I did it right. Since I live in a very dry climate I used a lot more water to get the right stickiness where it stuck to the bottom of the bowl but left the sides. It sounds complicated reading it, but it was very quick and easy in execution! :)

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

Oh my gosh Shona! That pizza looks like it was made in a nice restaurant! I can't wait to give this dough a try, bookmarked :)

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Thanks Shona! I like the site too, use to browse it all the time but haven't in awhile.

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CherylsCookingNow 6 years ago said:

I sure looks good! I'll save the recipe for later. Hubby likes the dough thick and chewy. I prefer thin and crispy but can eat it thick and chewy.

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CherylsCookingNow 6 years ago said:

I just read the "how to make" and the oven temperature is 800? Or 500? Isn't that too much?

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

Thanks Michelle! :)
Thanks Cheryl I baked mine at 525F and if my oven went hotter I'd go higher! Wood ovens can be 800F and it would only take 1-2 minutes in that kind of oven! Hotter is better if you like bubbly, crispy pizza. The first pizza I made I baked at 500F and it was a pale, chewier crust with no bubbles, so I cranked it to 525 and I got what you see in the picture. I would have loved to go to 550F if I could. ;)
For a thicker crust all you have to do is make the diameter smaller or use more dough. And cook it at a lower temp for a few minutes longer to get a more bread like crust. :)

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

My oven only goes up to 525 also :( Wish I had a pizza oven!!

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Oh yum! Tasty dough and easy to work with. I'm still working on my baking technique and really think I need to bake on my stone to get the results I desire.

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

Wow Linda, beautiful picture!!

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

Looks wonderful Linda! Looks like you got it nice and thin too! :)

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LindaLMT 6 years ago said:

Thanks. Love the taste ... even DH liked it and I got it nice and thin. It just wasn't crispy even though I tried your method of using a hot pan Shona. The top was done but the underneath was soggy. I really need to use my stone or parbake the crust and then top. I'll get it right soon. I have another piece for tomorrow and will try again. I also froze a piece to see how that works out.

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

I have been using my pizza stone quite a bit lately and every time I do I question myself on why I don't use it EVERY time, because my pizza crust really does come out SO much better on it :)

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

Just whipped this up again! I have to say, I've made this 4 or 5 times now and it's so quick and easy to whip up if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook! I let that do all the work, and divide the dough into oiled Ziploc bags, couldn't be easier and you get the best airy, bubbly, flavorful pizza crust-- just like a good pizzeria!
The last few times I've just used fridge cold water but didn't chill the flour and it's worked out fine! (My yeast jar sits in the fridge, so it's always cold)
I also use cornmeal on the bottom of the pan or peel so it doesn't stick and it gives a nice crunch to the bottom of the crust. But you can always use extra flour if you don't have cornmeal. :)

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mommyluvs2cook 6 years ago said:

Do you pre-bake the crust at all Shona? I need to try this!!

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Cosmicmother 6 years ago said:

I haven't prebaked it yet. There was one pizza where I used lrg. slices of fresh tomatoes and the dough didn't rise as much as the others, so I would pre-bake it if I used a lot of fresh tomatoes again. I'm usually light on sauces and toppings and haven't found any need to prebake except for that one tomato pizza. Perhaps the tomatoes created too much steam in the oven and it didn't crisp and bubble up? It was still good though! ;)

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pointsevenout 6 years ago said:

You could try painting the crust with egg when you prebake to seal the crust from getting soggy. Same principal as you would use on a pie crust.

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Rachel100 6 years ago said:

Looks great.

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